It’s still smack-dead winter in many parts of the U.S.A. – the recent “Bomb cyclone” clobbered my town – but you wouldn’t know it when driving the Ram, punching through drifts, disregarding your unplowed street on grocery runs and pretty much thumbing your nose at “weather.”
The Ram is also one of the (still) best-selling vehicles in the country, and for 2019 it’s got some radical changes, all of which augment its already-ferocious countenance and performance. It’s more comfortable, for one, as well as lighter, and they’ve done away with the traditional Ram/Dodge cross-hatch grille. It’s got an all-new body and frame, more interior room, a new rear axle for more efficient towing, a bigger and a more luxurious cockpit.
But one of its best features I found during the week’s test was its infotainment system, long the bane of auto journos who get in and out of 52 cars a year and find that just trying to turn on the radio in some new cars means looking in the owner’s manual. The 2019 Ram has a big, luxurious, beautiful and easy-to-use 12-inch touch screen that every auto manufacturer should ape. Want heat? Want it pointed at your feet, waist, head? You got it. Want to scroll through the SiriusXM stations and find your favorite? Done. Want to program the nav system? It (almost) beat my phone.
Are you listening, Lexus? Jaguar?
My tester was the “Laramie,” a top-of-the-line; check out the plethora of other trims and prices here. Three engine choices are on the menu: our V-8, 5.7 litre, 395-horsepower, an “eTorque (mild) hyrbrid V8, and an eTorque V6. Acceleration, handling and braking formed an equal alliance of mighty-might and a feeling of being in total control, no numbness, all brawn. Its towing capacity is 12,750 which is less than a few similarly-priced machines, so if you need more power you might consider a heavy-duty truck. Active tuned mass modules mounted on your frame keep the cabin noise down.
And speaking of cabin noise, this one is middle-of-the-night quiet and the interior materials are far more quality than what I’ve seen in the past. All the controls are clearly marked and made for people who don’t like little dinky knobs – the RAM’s knob are extra-large. The only knob I didn’t like was the shifter knob. I want a stalk on the wheel or a mighty pole in between the driver and passenger seats. A knob takes every ounce of gravitas out of this big-boy machine.
Buyers have a lot of choices for interior appearance, too – 6 in all. My $42,335 “Laramie Longhorn” was all cowboy with a distinct Western flavor you either love or you don’t. You can also pick three sorts of headlights: halogen, LED and LED with adaptive front-lighting. Your tailgate is now damped and has lift assist, which I never had the patience for, and your RamBox bed storage houses a 115-volt outlet when it’s party time.
The 2019 Ram 1500 is available in 2-wheel and 4-wheel-drive configurations; a diesel engine is on deck, too. I’ll try to get my paws on it and test it out for you, readers. Options for the Laramie include a 33-gallon fuel tank (you’ll need it) active-level 4-corner air suspension; gargantuan power-folding trailer-tow side mirrors and a dual-pane moonroof. Deployable side steps, damped tailgate with a power release, 22-inch wheels and dual exhaust tips are all recommended for maximum macho experience. A surround-view camera, adaptive cruise control and hill-descent control are available, too.
As usual, my week with the Ram was as slammin’ as the other 14 I’ve tested through the years, and this year’s Laramie may be the best-ever version yet. If Ram can bring back a shift stalk and also include an electronically controlled dumbo-ears side mirror mechanism as standard – my tester didn’t have one and I had to manually fold in the mirrors in my skinny driveway each and every time I came or left – this will be the ultimate Ram.
